Modi's fast: A blend of politics, spirituality, spin and hype

Ahmedabad: It looks anything but an Upvas or a fast aimed at self purification. It should have been fine actually but for the protests and claims of team Modi to the contrary. There is nothing wrong in things not being spiritual and other worldly. Especially in a temporal and very much this world’s Gujarat where it’s not so difficult to transcend from the physical and the metaphysical. The way to Nirvana in Gujarat passes as seamlessly through the teachings and discourses of spiritual gurus like Murari Bapu and Asaram (who are themselves fairly materialistic when it comes to receiving donations from devotees) as it does through this world’s currency and the usual slogans of economic progress, development and prosperity. Quite fair and to each his own really! The problem though with Narendra Modi’s Upvas is that he speaks the language of a sanyasi and a Rishi while elaborating on his three-day Sadbhavna (goodwill) Mission, but everything that is happening here, in and around the huge convention hall of the Gujarat University, gives the game away. It’s a PR exercise planned and executed with the masterly precision and an eye for detail for which Modi has now acquired a larger than life image. [caption id=“attachment_86297” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Narendra Modi on the first day of his fast. PTI”]  [/caption] From AC halls for delegates as well as media, giant TV screens strategically located for easy viewing from whichever corner of the convention hall complex one is seated, an almost perfect public address system, a tasteful selection of bhajans and devotional songs, massive security detail and the hundreds of people deployed just to keep cleaning the entire venue, the effort has to be praised for Modi’s managerial and execution skills. But at least on day one, Modi comes across more as a world class event manager who perhaps has no peers on this score when it comes to his political contemporaries. Bur surely Modi has not organised this jamboree to prove this point which is—grudgingly or otherwise — more or less conceded even by his most vocal and virulent critics. This was supposed to be different; the Sadhbhavna Mission is not about Modi’s unquestionable organisational prowess, it’s about him turning a new leaf. It’s about the unveiling of a new Modi; compassionate, moderate, liberal, democratic, secular and all of that. Well that message is not coming through. And one can well understand the problem. The challenge before Modi and his spin doctors appears to be quite real. How does he transform himself into a darling of all those who hated him till yesterday and still retain his old constituency who love him for what he has been till now. Aggressive, brash, decisive, macho, daring, a mix of vikas and lohpurush who—like George Bush—believed in the dictum of “either you are with us or against us”. The dichotomy is too much to manage even for a master strategist and spin doctor like Modi. Or is it really? Is he aiming for the seemingly impossible? Will he be able to bridge the gap between these two seemingly irreconcilable positions and constituencies? That’s the big question. The answer to which Narendra Modi may well provide soon, maybe when he breaks his fast on Monday. Meanwhile, there are two big questions journalists and analysts ate debating here in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The first is whether Modi is bracing himself for an apology for his government’s failure to protect innocent Muslims in 2002 post Godhra riots. The question has sprung from his open letter published as full page advertisement in newspapers on Saturday. Modi has made three points in this letter which are worth recounting. One he talked about sharing and feeling the pain of each and every Gujarati in the context of 2002 riots in which a number of innocents were killed. He also talked about the curse of communalism which hindered peace and progress and finally he thanked those who have pointed to him his mistakes adding that just like anybody else he (Modi) too was not perfect. Coming from a man whose body language smacks of one who is always convinced that he can do no wrong, these are strong statements from Modi. But can these statements be construed as an apology. Most definitely not! At best it’s an effort—and that too an hesitant one, more in the nature of testing waters — to take a step towards showing some kind of remorse or regret. But he will have to be more direct and forthcoming if he really wishes to make a clean break from his past and shed his anti-Muslim image with an eye on a more pan Indian acceptance and a bid for becoming the BJP’s candidate for the PM’s job. So really on this issue half-hearted, tentative moves will not cut much ice and Modi should guard against running the risk of isolating both the secularists and the fundamentalists. I am sure he realises that and that’s his big dilemma; how to avoid falling between two stools. The second issue being debated endlessly is whether this is Modi’s final push for Delhi. That from here on he will be unstoppable and there’s nothing which can come in the way of him becoming the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Most analysts are convinced that his decision to deliver his speech in Hindi was the final signal of his intent to go national. I don’t think so. I think Modi’s eyes are firmly fixed right now on the more immediate target of Gujarat 2012 and not Delhi 2014. He knows his first task is to win Gujarat third time running. That would not just seal his numero uno position as a mass leader in the party, he can then use the state election results as a platform to make a grand entry in the national politics. But if for some reason he fails to secure the state again, his odds at taking a shot at Delhi will all but evaporate. A pragmatic man like Modi will first secure the ‘bird in hand’ before moving to more alluring pastures.